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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Appearing before the shrine of the beloved 14th-century poet Hafez in the city of Shiraz, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded to questions put to him by Channel 4's Jon Snow. Ahmadinejad visited Shiraz earlier this week and was met with the same half-hearted reception he had received during official trips to Tabriz and Isfahan.

The interview was broadcast yesterday in Britain. Ahmadinejad's song-and-dance appears increasingly removed from reality as many of his answers indicate:

The Islamic regime has been posting banners across Iran in an attempt to prevent mourning ceremonies for the late Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri who passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khorasani managed to organize a ceremony at Kashan's Shamkhi Mosque, but in order to overcome security measures, the hour and location were announced at the last moment. The next day, another larger event was organized at the city's Hossein Mosque, but this time the regime's forces were forewarned. Attendants who arrived at the mosque saw the following banner hoisted over the entrance:

The banner reads, 'According to an announcement of the Supreme National Security Council, any gathering for Mr. Montazeri is forbidden anywhere in the country except in Ghom and Najafabad.'

The use of such banners have also been reported in Zanjan, where they were disregarded today. Mourners at the event set up by Ayatollah Zanjani were attacked by plainclothesmen and security forces.

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